Home

Winner of an English PEN Award

A complex novel of migration told from the point of view of an un-named narrator. Full of the paradoxes of a life lived in exile and the inevitable doubts and nostalgia for Home, this is a gentle and charming read.Prompted by a class reunion, Home deals with the experience of homecoming after extended absence and engages with the archaeology of the self in the context of estrangement and belonging. Having taken the decision to emigrate decades earlier, Tompa's unnamed protagonist is caught between two worlds, navigating a journey from one homeland to another, and suddenly facing an upsurge of revelations that have a strong emotional impact. Home takes in landmark events from the past, starting with the youthful ease with which the protagonist had set off on an adventure of a lifetime, and continuing with the personal stories of former classmates - some also scattered around the world, and others who decided to stay put. Home negotiates diverse orders of experience and presumed difference without becoming judgmental, while attention is being drawn to ongoing change over time - be it in the lives of those who opted to stay or to leave.